Scavenger Hunt

This Saturday I took part in a 20-team scavenger hunt. I have to say it was very well organized and unbelievable fun. We raced all over Bangalore searching for random objects, performing crazy tasks, and collecting clues from things like hard-to-find road signs. Pictures here are of me hugging a goat, and Christine getting a piggy-back ride from a stranger (she was still wet from jumping in a pool). I regret to say that we came in second place by 10 points (on a 2,000+ point scale). But we weren't upset about losing because it was such a great experience.

Taco-riffic

Although they're open-faced for the moment (coming out of the microwave), these are about to be folded into three tacos. That's right; I can eat Mexican food at home now - with an Indian twist. They're actually ground mutton (that's a sheep, not a goat) and mainly flavored with chili powder. Shredded cheese isn't made in Bangalore, but I found a dutch grocery store that sells imported shredded swiss for $6 per bag. The end product is, surprisingly enough, delicious.

Poker night

I used to host poker nights at my place back when Ryan and Getzel lived in Atlanta. And I hosted a few impromptu games this past summer. But my chances to play have been slim for a couple years, even though I love the game. I'm excited to say that I may have found a regular poker game in India.

And I played very well, coming in fourth. I bet wisely on my last hand, going all in with a pair of 2's against King-9, but Victor caught a flush on the last card. We drank Chimay beer all night which was delicious - it only arrived in Bangalore last month, and can only be bought from a single Dutch grocery store.

And I ate lamb brains. Yes, that's right - I ate brains. It wasn't necessarily on purpose. It was sitting out in the kitchen, and it looked like cheese! But it's done. I'll just put that on a list with other weird foods that I've eaten - alligator, snake, ostrich jerky, a warthog meatball sub, shark fin, and chicken ovaries. PS - don't eat brains, the texture is gross.

Happy Pongal!

Another interesting holiday took the office by storm; this one celebrates a good harvest and is called Pongal. In the lobby, people were creating a painting. They sketched an outline with chalk, then were adding color by rubbing it with what looked like sand.

A second, important part of the holiday was handing out sugar cane. I was given a piece of what appears to be a stick. Apparently you can peel the outer edges and chew the inside, and it'll be very sweet. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me - and nobody could show me how to do it, either. So I stashed my sugar cane in a drawer. The people in the picture below are some of the people I work with - especially Venkat, on the right, who works in accounting.

Brunch, and the tragedy of cooks

Brunch is as much of a to-do here as it is in Atlanta. I suppose it's probably a tradition that was brought over by the British. Most of the expats meet up on Sundays for a rotation through the big hotels in the area. Sometimes I don't go because of cost - it runs $30 - $50. But it's probably worth it. We end up with all you can eat and all you can drink for about four hours. I like that it's a very social event. I wish all meals could be as much of an event as Sunday brunch!

When I came back to Bangalore my apartment was covered in a layer of dirt. It's not a clean city. And my maid/cook Vijaya didn't show up that day - or the next day, or the next. So I assumed that she flew the coop, and I made other arrangements. My doorman knew a girl working nearby and set me up with Roopa, my new cook.

On Saturday Roopa showed up for work - and so did Vijaya! Apparently she had been trying to come, and the doorman had turned her away. I pretty much believed her, but I let her go. Then Vijaya's eyes got teary, and she explained that her husband was also recently out of work. But I didn't feel like I could go back on what I'd said. Roopa is also excellent in her own right - better than Vijaya, and she speaks English.

Roopa is clearly an upgrade. But I feel like I should've shown more loyalty to Vijaya, and I feel terrible about her situation.

Athens Day 3

Day 3 involved a lot of sites around Athens. The Tower of the Winds. An old neighborhood with colorful, winding alleys. The archaeological museum with its gold jewelry and pottery. The temple of Zeus. A Byzantine church from the 11th century. Syntagma Square lit up at night with a carousel. I'll leave you with two pictures for the day. One is graffiti: it's nasty and ubiquitous in Athens (I suspect they clean it up for tourist season), but some of it made me smile. The other is a typical street in Greece, just so you can get a feel for it. By the way - it had significantly warmed up by this point, so I was enjoying myself more and walking around.

Day 4 in Athens involved more walking around and seeing old stuff, and some shopping. It was good old stuff, but I feel like I'm beginning to drag on a little about Athens. So my next post will be about Bangalore. I'm back!

Athens Day 2

On Day 2 in Athens I knew I'd be jet-lagged, so I signed up for a 1-day tour. And I was off to Argolis. Our first stop was the theater at Epidaurus. It's a technical marvel for its acoustics. It can seat 15,000 people, but if you strike a match or whisper at the center of the stage, you can hear it as clear as day all the way in the 55th row. I had read about this, but hearing people test it out, I was still shocked that it works.
Stop #2 was Agamemnon's Palace in Mycenae. That name probably rings a bell - he was the king of Greece during the Trojan War, and he's mentioned in the Iliad and the Odyssey. The palace is largely in ruins, but the fact that it still exists from 1,600 B.C. is amazing. It's also surprising how accessible everything is in Greece - the sites aren't behind barricades, you can just walk around them. Although I suppose it's hard to do much harm, since everything is stone. The walls around the palace are massive.

The last stop of the day was the Treasury of Atreus, aka Agamemnon's tomb. This pic is from the inside looking out. I was pretty sure Indiana Jones was going to jump out from the shadows and crack his whip. The entrance was especially impressive. It turns out that the top stone is a single slab that weighs 120 tons, and literally nobody can figure out how it got there. The technology to move or create something that heavy didn't exist in 1,600 B.C. Stonehenge (earlier and ending aroud the same time) stones weighed 4 tons. The stones in the Egyptian pyramids weigh 2 tons.

Athens Day 1

I made it to Athens! The long flight in economy class wasn't as bad as I thought, so I was prepared for it. But it was rough: perpetually screaming/sick children and lots of light. I had trouble sleeping. My bags made it (Atlanta - Toronto - Montreal - Athens), which I was happy about. I gave them a 50-50 shot from the outset.

As soon as I landed and dropped off my bags, I bolted for the Acropolis. Even though you can see it from anywhere in Athens (it's on top of a massive hill; you can see the view from the Acropolis in a picture below), it's not as easy as making a straight line from point A to point B. The streets of Athens are narrow alleys that zigzag back and forth, and they're often only labeled in Greek characters. Maps are only good some of the time. In any case, I eventually made it to the Acropolis with about an hour to look around, which was plenty.

First impression: it was freezing. It was a cold day in Athens at around 30 degrees, and the wind chill on the hilltop was ridiculous. On the very bright side, the unfavorable conditions meant that I had the Acropolis almost entirely to myself (and for the last 15 minutes or so, I really did have it to myself). Which was a kind of magical experience.

For the uninitiated (I knew little to nothing before arriving), the Acropolis is the name of the hilltop, and the several buildings on it have their own names. You enter through a enormous gateway called the Propylaea. In front of you and a little to the right is the legendary Parthenon (top picture with me in it). Father off to your left, you'll bump into the Erechtheion (bottom -most picture), which I had never heard of but I thought was particularly cool. It's eclecticly built in three sections and features a porch with six women ("caryatids" - picture below). It held all of the most sacred relics, and priests fed an enormous sacred snake that lived in the basement.

Dinner on my first night was the best meal of the trip. I wandered around the city around 10pm and stumbled on a taverna that was obviously having a good time. A man played piano while a woman belted out traditional tunes. Most of the audience knew the words and would sing along - throwing their hands in the air, clapping, dancing in their seats, and draining bottles of red wine. Dinner was delicious. A fried feta cheese appetizer came with two shots of Riki, complements of the house. It turns out that Riki is a grape-based drink like Ouzo, and tastes like gasoline and moonshine, but I appreciated the hospitality. Dinner was a honey-flavored pork that was perfectly cooked. Dessert was baklava and I got another complimentary drink - a sweet dessert wine. Afterwards the manager swang by and was extremely friendly.

Sorry to exhaust you with details of Day 1! I promise that the other days will be more summarized, but my first day in Athens was a very good day.

Happy New Year!

It was amazing to see everyone. Bangalore has been - and will continue to be - a defining experience in my life. And I'm excited to return for more adventures. But there's no substitute for seeing my friends, and I was exceedingly happy to spend time with everyone. I can't wait to see you all again soon. And as always, let me extend an invitation for you to visit me in Bangalore. There's a warm bed waiting for you.

Sarah Bear!

I made it home to Florida with no problems (I got a new camera this Christmas - some of these new pictures look great). And I got to see my family, and they're all doing well.

And I got to see Sarah! That was maybe the biggest deal, for me. I've caught up with my parents on the phone, but I couldn't speak to my dog. Sarah is obviously extremely happy. She gets to spend time with Mom and Dad all day, she has another dog to bark with and run around with, she gets brushed every day, and she gets a ton of treats.

Sarah was so happy that I was a little sad, if that makes sense. She seems like she's having a better life than she ever had with me. I don't have a way to give her that much attention when I take her back. I have to work all day, and I think she seems better off in Florida.

Trivia Night

Raging Burrito trivia night and I go waaay back. We started going more than two years ago, when we realized that trivia was a great way to meet up, drink beer, and have smart fun. We went every week for more than a year, and when we stopped, it led me to become a trivia guy.

I was psyched to be in town for trivia night. From the parking guy named Michael Jackson to Sarah my favorite waitress, most of the people are the same. And our team played very well - we were in first place all the way until the final question. After trivia a few of us went across the square to the Brickstore for a final beer; another Thursday night tradition.